USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 15
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127
BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.
Col. Campbell was chosen to act as commandant till such general offi- cer should arrive. « We marched to the Cowpens, on Broad river, in South Carolina, where we were joined by Col. James Williams, with 400 men, on the evening of the 6th of October, who informed us that the enemy lay encamped somewhere near the Cherokee ford of Broad river, about 30 miles distant from us. By a council of the princi- pal officers, it was then thought advisable to pursue the enemy that night with 900 of the best horsemen, and leave the weak horse and foot-men to follow as fast as possible. We began our march with 900 of the best horsemen about 8 o'clock the same evening, and marching all night, came up with the enemy about 3 o'clock, P. M., of the 7th, who lay encamped on the top of King's Mountain, twelve miles north of the Cherokee ford, in the confidence that they would not be forced from so advantageous a post. Previous to the attack, on the march, the following disposition was made : Col. Shelby's regiment formed a column in the centre on the left ; Col. Campbell's regiment another on the right ; part of Col. Cleveland's regiment, headed in front by Major Winston, and Col. Sevier's regiment formed a large column on the right wing ; the other part of Col. Cleveland's regiment, headed by Col. Cleveland himself, and Col. Williams' regi- ment, composed the left wing. In this order we advanced, and got within a quarter of a mile of the enemy before we were discovered. Col. Shelby's and Col. Campbell's regiments began the attack, and kept up a fire while the right and left wings were advancing to sur- round them, which was done in about five minutes ; the greatest part of which time a heavy and incessant fire was kept up on both sides ; our men in some parts, where the regulars fought, were obliged to give way a small distance, two or three times, but rallied, and -re- turned with additional ardor to the attack. The troops upon the right having gained the summit of the eminence, obliged the enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge to where Col. Cleveland com- manded, and were there stopped by his brave men. A flag was im- mediately hoisted by Captain De Poisture, their commanding officer, (Major Ferguson having been killed a little before,) for a surrender. Our fire immediately ceased, and the enemy laid down their arms, the greatest part of them charged, and surrendered themselves to us prisoners at discretion.
It appeared from their own provision returns for that day, found in their camp, that their whole force consisted of 1125 men, out of which they sustained the following loss : Of the regulars, one major, one captain, two sergeants, and fifteen privates killed ; thirt-five privates wounded, left on the ground not able to march. Two cap- tains, four lieutenants, three ensigns, one surgeon, five sergeants, three corporals, one drummer and 49 privates taken prisoners. Loss of the Tories : two colonels, three captains and 201 privates killed ; one major and 127 privates wounded, and left on the ground, not able to march ; one colonel, 12 captains, 11 lieutenants, two ensigns, one quartermaster, one adjutant, two commissaries, 18 sergeants and
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128
BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.
600 privates taken prisoners. Total loss of the enemy, 1105 men, at King's Mountain. Given under our hands at Camp.
Signed
WM. CAMPBELL,
ISAAC SHELBY,
BENJ. CLEVELAND.
The despatch, a copy of which I here send you, can be found in the Virginia Gazette of the 18th of Nov., 1780. The copy I send was taken from an original, sent to Col. Arthur Campbell, as county Lieutenant of Washington County .- See 1st vol. Marshall's Life of Washington, p. 397.
If I can think of any other facts worth communicating to you, and which relate to the first settlement of this part of Virginia, you shall have them-and I shall be greatly obliged by hearing from you as you progress with your work. Your Sketches of North Caro- lina have greatly interested me-and all you may say about Parson Graham and Liberty Hall must be interesting. When a boy, I often saw at my father's, John Campbell's, such young preachers as Allen, who died in Kentucky -Freeman, Blythe and others- all very interesting men. But they have all gone, I believe. ' I was married by the second husband of Allen's widow-and knew her intimately. She was a most interesting woman-and Mr. Ramsey was the pastor of the congregation around Campbell's station, and the intimate friend of Col. Campbell's and Judge Roane's families. He preached the funeral service at the burial of Mrs. Margaret Campbell. I believe he died before Judge Roane.
Most respectfully your obt. servt.,
DAVID CAMPBELL.
I will omit the account of the battle of King's Mountain which I had intended sending you. The official account is sufficient. There is, however, one fact which I ought to state in justice to the Virginia regiment, and which shows the part they took in the bat- tle. Col. Newell, in a letter in 1823, informs me that of our men in that battle 30 were killed and 60 wounded. He was badly wounded himself - but fought through the action by procuring a horse, although a lieutenant, and commanding and encouraging his men until the surrender. Of those killed, 13 were from the Wash- ington Virginia regiment, and here are their names : - Captains Andrew Edmondson and William Edmondson; Lieutenants Reece Brown, William Blackburn, Thomas McCulloch and Robert Edmond- son-and Ensigns John Beatie, James Corry, James Laird, Natha- niel Dryden, James Phillips and Nathaniel Guist-and private Henry Henigar. The names of the wounded are not known, but Col. Newell says there were twenty, so that Col. Campbell's regi- ment lost in killed nearly one half, and in wounded one-third of the whole.
129
COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON.
A COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON
OF THE BRITISH ARMY.
One of the heroes of King's Mountain, and a victim of the battle upon its summit, was Col. Ferguson, of the British army. Fighting bravely and coolly, though wounded, he fell by a gunshot from the American militia, pressing on with unexcelled courage to ascend the mountains and surround the British and tory foes on the top. It is hardly possible, that, unharmed by powder and ball, he could have escaped a surrender in a few minutes, as flight was impracti- cable, and victory scarcely in the bounds of possibility, even for the brave, and enterprising, and skilful Colonel. In the immediate relief felt, in the upper counties of the Carolinas, by his fall, and in the important consequences connected with his defeat, the re- joicing was so great and universal, that history has seemed to forget, or at least overlook his real worth, in filling up its pages. He fell fighting as bravely for his king as Wolfe on the plains of Abraham. The events following in both cases were immeasurable; and from first to last equally beyond human skill, or the events of chance or weakness. The fall of Montcalm and Wolfe was the beginning of the loss of America to France; and the death of Ferguson, with Williams and Chronicle, the beginning of the loss of the Southern States to the Royal army, and of the whole United States to Great Britain. King's Mountain, the field of the militia of the Carolinas and Virginia, followed in succession by the Cowpens, the theatre of the gallant Morgan with his regulars and militia, and Guilford, the chosen battle-field of Greene with Cornwallis, accumulated an amount of loss upon the Royal army, and infused a power of en- thusiasm into the breasts of the hitherto discouraged patriots; the tide of war was changed, and the current of events rushed on to the surrender of the British army at Yorktown. He must have been no ordinary man, whose loss on an expedition through the western counties could, as the British writers say, change the whole course of Lord Cornwallis in his proceedings against the Carolinas. The following facts collected by the "Senior Member of the Abing- don Literary Club," present Col. Ferguson in a more favorable light as a man and an officer, than the traditions of border war, and tory and patriotic encounters have hitherto thrown around him. He was something more noble than the maraudings connected with his expeditions have portrayed him to the southern people.
Patrick Ferguson was a Scotchman. His father, James Ferguson - of Pitfane, was a Judge of eminence. His uncle, Patrick Murray, a nobleman, held a high rank for his literary accomplishments. 'T'he nephew was esteemed of-" equally vigorous and brilliant powers." He sought distinction in the army, and at eighteen was a subaltern in the German wars, distinguished for his cool and deliberate courage. When the troubles with America assumed a warlike
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COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON.
aspect, young Ferguson turned his attention to the construction of a rifle that might, by its use in the British army, remove somewhat of the dread the reports of the skill of the American riflemen cast upon the spirits of the soldiery. He produced a rifle that might be loaded six times in a minute, by an ingenious contrivance to thrust in the charges of powder and ball, at the breech of the barrel, . without changing the position of the rifle or the marksman. Lord Townsend, Master of Ordinance, expressed his approbation of this improved instrument of war. The regiment to which Ferguson be- longed not being called to active service in the colonies, he sought an introduction to the Commander-in-chief, and from him received an appointment to discipline a corps, drafted from different regiments, to the use of his rifle. This corps was first engaged in action at the battle of Brandywine in Sept. 1777 ; and the service, rendered by it to the forces under General Knyphausen, received the commen- dation of the Commander-in-chief, and by his order was publicly attested, and acknowledged by the whole army - " having scoured the ground so effectually, that not a shot was fired by the Americans to annoy that column in its march." Secured by this corps, Knyphausen advanced and obliged the Americans to cross the river -"and opened the way to the rest of the army."
"Ferguson "- says a British writer-"in a private letter of which Dr. Adam Ferguson transmitted me a copy, mentions a very curious incident, from which, it appears that the life of the American General was in imminent danger." While Ferguson lay with a part of his riflemen on a skirt of wood in front of General Knyphausen's division, the circumstance happened of which the letter in question gives the following account : -
"We had not lain long, when a rebel officer, remarkable by a hussar dress, passed towards our army, within a hundred yards of my right flank, not perceiving us. He was followed by another, dressed in dark green and blue, mounted on a good bay horse, with a remarkable high cocked hat. . I ordered three good shots to steal near to them, and fire at them; but the idea disgusted me. I recalled the order. The hussar, in returning, made a circuit, but the other passed within a hundred yards of us; upon which I advanced trom the woods towards him. Upon my calling he stopped, but after looking at me, proceeded. I again drew his attention, and made sign to him to stop, levelling my piece at him ; but he slowly continued his way. As I was within that distance, at which in the quickest firing, I could have lodged half a dozen balls in or about him before he was out of my reach, I had only to de- termine ; but it was not pleasant to fire at the back of an unoffending individual, who was acquitting himself very coolly of his duty. So I let him alone. The day after, I had been telling this story to some wounded officers, who lay in the same room with me, when one of our surgeons, who had been dressing the wounded rebel officers,. came in and told us that they had been informing him that General Washington was all the morning with the light troops, and only
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131
COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON.
attended by a French officer in a hussar dress, he himself dressed. and mounted in every point as above described. I am not sorry that I did not know at the time who it was."
In the year 1779, Colonel Ferguson was employed in several expeditions which called forth a great degree of British valor and 'ability, but were unimportant in their results. He was engaged in the incursions upon the North, or Hudson's River. He was in the expedition to Charleston, South Carolina, and is mentioned with great praise by Sir Henry Clinton, the commander-in-chief of the British army." After the reduction of Charleston, in 1780, the writer, quoted by the senior member, goes on to say-" When Lord Cornwallis was attempting by justice and mildness to restore har- mony between the provinces and the mother country, he called for the assistance of Ferguson. To the valor, enterprise, and inven- · tions, which are so important in war, Ferguson was known to add the benignant disposition and conciliatory manner which generate good-will and cement friendship in situations of peace. Among the propositions of Cornwallis for the security of the recovered colony, one scheme was to arm the well affected for their own defence. Ferguson, now a Lieutenant-Colonel in America, was entrusted with the charge of marshalling the militia throughout a wide extent of country. Under his direction and conduct, a militia at once numerous and select, was enrolled and disciplined. One of the great tests of clearness and vigor of understanding is ready classifi- cation, either of things or men, according to the qualities which they possess, and the purposes they are fitted or intended to answer. Ferguson exercised his genius in devising a summary of the ordinary tactics and manual exercises for the use of the militia. He had them divided in every district into two classes-one of the young men, single and unmarried, who should be ready to join the king's troops to repel any enemy that infested the province ; another, of the aged and heads of families, who should be ready to unite in defend- ing their own townships, habitations, and farms. In his progress amongst them, he soon gained their confidence by the attentions he paid to the interests of the well affected, and even by his humanity to the families of those who were in arms against him. We come not, said he, to make war upon women and children; and gave them money to relieve their distresses. The movements of the Americans having compelled Lord Cornwallis to proceed with great caution in his Northern expedition, the genius and efforts of Ferguson were. required for protecting and facilitating the march of the army, and a plan of collateral operations was devised for the purpose. In the execution of these schemes he had advanced as far as Ninety-Six, about two hundred miles from Charleston ; and with his usual vigor and success, was acting against different bodies of the Colonists that still disputed the possession, when intelligence arrived from the British officer, Colonel Brown, commander of his Majesty's forces in upper Georgia, that a corps of rebels, under Colonel -Clarke, had made an attempt upon Augusta, and being repulsed was retreat-
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COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON.
ing by the back settlements of Carolina. Colonel Brown added, that he meant to hang on the rear of the enemy, and that if Fergu- son would cut across his route, he might be intercepted, and his party dispersed. This service seemed to be perfectly consistent with the purposes of his expedition, and did not give time to wait" for fresh orders from Lord Cornwallis. Ferguson yielded to his usual ardor, and pushed with his detachment, composed of a few regulars and militia, into Tyson County.
" In the meantime numerous bodies of back settlers, west of the Allegheny Mountains, were in arms, some of them intending to seize upon the presents intended for the Creek and Cherokee Indians, which they understood were slightly guarded at Augusta, Georgia. Others had assembled upon the alarm of enemies likely to visit them from South Carolina. These meeting with Colonel Clarke secured his retreat, and made it expedient for Brown to desist from the pursuit, and return to his station at Augusta; while Ferguson, having no intelligence of Brown's retreat, still continued the march which was undertaken at his request. As he was continuing his route, a numerous, fierce, and unexpected enemy suddenly sprang up in the woods and wilds. The inhabitants of the Allegheny as- sembled without noise or warning, under the conduct of six or seven of their militia colonels, to the number of 1600 daring, well-mounted and excellent horsemen. Discovering these enemies, as he crossed King's Mountain, Ferguson took the best position for receiving them' the ground would permit. But his men, neither covered by horse nor artillery, and likewise being dismayed and astonished at finding themselves so unexpectedly surrounded and attacked on évery side by the cavalry of the mountains, were not capable of withstanding the impetuosity of their charge. Already 150 of his soldiers were killed upon the spot, and a greater number was wounded ; still how- ever the unconquerable spirit of this gallant officer refused to sur- render. He repulsed a succession of attacks from every quarter, until he received a mortal wound. By the fall of Colonel Ferguson, his men were entirely disheartened. Animated by his brave exam- ple, they had hitherto preserved their courage under all disadvan- tages. The second in command judging all further resistance to be vain, offered to surrender, and sued for quarter. From the ability and exertions of Colonel Ferguson, very great advantages had been expected. By his unfortunate fall, and the slaughter, captivity, or dispersion of his whole corps, the plan of the expedition into North Carolina was entirely deranged, the western frontiers of South Carolina were now exposed to the incursions of the mountaineers, and it become necessary for Lord Cornwallis to fall back for their protection, and wait for a reinforcement before he could proceed further on his expedition. On the 14th of October, he began his march to South Carolina. His Lordship was taken ill, but never- theless preserved his vigor of mind, and arrived on the 29th of Octo- ber, 1780, at Winnsborough, to wait for fresh reinforcements from Sir Henry Clinton." Such is the British account of this daring
133
COLONEL PATRICK FERGUSON.
and accomplished officer, whose army was entirely destroyed on the summit of King's Mountain, on the 7th of October, 1780.
Colonel Ferguson was apprised of the gathering of the militia to oppose his progress, and had dispatched a messenger to. Cornwallis for reinforcements. But the messenger, fearing the patriots living on his route, travelled only at night, lying by through the day, and compelled to take a circuitous route, reached the camp of his lord- ship only the night before the attack on Ferguson. The news of the defeat reached the royal camp before any reinforcement could be sent off to aid the Col. His fall was a loss his lordship could not repair. Rawdon and Tarlton were brave and enterprising, and ad- mirable for a daring expedition or a bold stroke. Webster was a , gentleman and an honorable soldier of great courage, unequalled in the camp or in action. O'Harra was brave and capable of the post . next his lordship. But Ferguson for managing the affairs of the country in the unsettled state of things in the Carolinas, had no equal in the army of Cornwallis. Charleston was taken by the British forces, on the 12th of .May, 1780; Buford was defeated on the Waxhaw, on the 29th of the same month ; Gates was defeated at Camden, August 16th ; Sumpter surprised on the 18th; and South Carolina appeared to be a conquered State. On the 7th of October, Ferguson was defeated on King's Mountain ; January 17th, 1781, Morgan gained over Tarlton the battle at the Cowpens; on March 15th, was the battle at Guilford C. H., followed by the retreat of Cornwallis to Wilmington ; and the Carolinas were in the course of the summer rescued from the power of the British army.
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CHAPTER X.
REV. MESSRS. JAMES MITCHEL AND SAMUEL HOUSTON.
AT the meetings of the Virginia Synod, for about the first forty years of the nineteenth century, might have been seen a wrinkled, white-haired man of low stature, with head and shoulders large enough for a taller frame ; his manners simple, his dress approach- ing the antique, always neat and becoming; whom all called father Mitchel ; and no one could tell when he was not so called. To him the members of Synod were especially kind and attentive and re- spectful, beyond what age from its own gravity might demand. " A . stranger might inquire - Is he the accredited head of the Semi- nary ? - a leading Theologian ? - a debater ? - a principal man in -
some of the great enterprises of benevolence ? - a pleader of the cause of humanity in some interesting department ? - no none of these. He pleads a cause, and has pleaded but one all his active life;
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REV. JAMES MITCHEL.
pleads it in simplicity and earnestness and with success ; pleads it in his daily life, and from the pulpit. That cause is the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ, the message of mercy to sinful man; that he pleads always, and every where, with a warm heart and trumpet voice. Boasting no great stores of learning of any sort, he preached the gospel from the year 1781 in his 34th year, till the year 1841 . in his 95th year. All the men that grew old with Rev. Archibald Alexander knew Mr. Mitchel as a man of God, whose congregations had been visited many a time from on high, and to many of them he had been a chosen physician of their souls. He loved his God, and loved his fellow-men, and loved to preach the gospel ; and in his " quietness and confidence was his strength." - A laborious old man, he accomplished all through life more than his youth, or his abilities, or his acquirements, or physical strength, ever promised. John B. Smith, President of Hampden Sidney, said that Mr. Gra- ham, on his visit, preached the greatest sermon he had ever heard, except one, and that was preached by this powerful and weak, gentle and strong old man, James Mitchel. . As pastor of the Church in Bedford he saw rise, within the shadow of the Peaks of Otter, great and good men, before whose intellect and acquirements he bowed in sincerity and respect. Simple-hearted as a child, God chose him to cherish the childhood of gigantic men. A pastor, God chose him to be one of those laborious missionaries that sowed, over south-west Virginia, seed now springing up under other laborers, into churches of the living God. : Few men have been more useful, and yet no one act of his life attracted the attention of the Church and the world., A succession of every-day duties of a minister of the gos- pel filled up his life.
If ever he kept a diary, or a journal, the manuscript has perished, or gone into seclusion beyond the keenness of present research. Long before his death, no one could be found that knew his child- hood, and but few recollected his early manhood. His narratives of former days are remembered by many. He trusted his memory as a faithful servant, and she gave forth her treasures at his com- mand. No written memorial from his hand, testifies to those that come after him the faithfulness of God to his soul. His acts remain in their influence, and here and there a tradition, and some sen- tences in the record of ecclesiastical courts ; all else is passed from earth, and remains written in the book of God for the high purposes of another day. The Rev. Jacob D. Mitchell says, under date - "Lynchburg, Nov. 1st 1854 : Brother Foote -I am now able to reply to your enquiries concerning the Rev. James Mitchel (he pre- ferred this orthography) and I believe the statements may be relied on as authentic. James Mitchel was born at Pequa, Pennsylvania, Jan. 29th 1747. 'His father Robert Mitchel, was born in the north of Ireland, but emigrated to America while yet a youth. He is reputed to have been a man of vigorous intellect and devoted piety, well instructed in religion, and a devoted and thorough Presbyte- rian. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Enos, was, it seems,
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REV. JAMES MITCHEL.
of Welsh extraction. She, like her husband, was an eminently pious Presbyterian. This excellent pair resided in Bedford County, for many years, and were members, the husband being ruling elder, of the Church, of which their son was pastor. They both lived to a good old age. He lived to be 85; of her age I am not informed. They had 13 children, of whom not one died less than 70 years old. The Mitchel family seems to have been remarkable in former times for piety and longevity. Robert Mitchel it seems was converted while yet a boy. The immediate means of his awakening was the fact of overhearing his great-grandmother, at her secret devotions, praying for him. "She was then more than 100 years old; she lived to the age of 112." We may add - that this Robert Mitchel, tra- dition says, was very fond of music, and did much to promote sing- ing in the congregation. He talked much of Derry and the affairs of that noted town, and the sufferings of the Mitchel family in that famous siege. The peculiar dialect of his countrymen was marked in his speech. . As an elder he was worthy of double honor.
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